On Saturday 20 November a second session on the Hobblers Hole pond took place with 7 enthusiastic volunteers (See Hobblers Hole Pond: Progress Update for details on the first session).
As well as the opportunity for a pleasant outdoor chat, a 6-metre diameter area was dug by the group to about a 20-25 cm depth, with soil removed to expose the clay level. About 5 cubic metres of built up soil was barrowed to an area about 15 metres away, increasing the pond capacity by 5,000 litres. Equally importantly, most of the roots and seeds in that area should have been removed so there will be less growth of vegetation next year in the pond area.
Thanks go to Mark, Caroline, Dave, Janet, Isla & Breda for their spade and barrowing work.
Next Session
The final pond digging session of 2022 will be on Saturday 4 December between 10am and 11:20am. This session will extend the dug area by a metre all round, and then put in a slightly angled slope so there is not such a steep step between dug pond and the surrounding area. If you are interested in participating in this or future work on Hobblers Hole, then email Jon Davies of the LLRA at jon.davies@long-leys.org with your contact details.
Horseshoe Evidence
Amongst the broken bottles and abandoned bicycle parts found in the pond, there was also evidence of a past occupant of the area, a horseshoe, presumably from the 1990s when Hobblers Hole was last grazed by horses.
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